Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-07-06
The Todd Case.

The Todd Case.
In the Washington Presbytery in Wash
ington yesterday the Todd case was re-
sumed.
Francis NJ. Todd, sworn, testified as fol-
lows: 81 was born in Bedford county,
Pennsylvania. Have been pastor of the
Manassas and Nokesyille churches for ten
years. spent the night of the 23d of May
at Col. Shows. On Monday morning [ left
Mr.. Shows and went to Mr.. Slack's; l
reached there about 10; left about o'clock
and went to DR.. Readings l slept at
Readings. I think l started from Read
ing's at about S:45 or o'clock. l travelled
about four miles an hour; the roads were
heavy; went into Mr.. Slack's, and stopped
there about half an hour. | saw nothing
of Mr.. Bodine. I stopped at the church and
got a sermon l had left there; | was there
about fifteen minutes | then went on and
met Messrs. Moloney, Snow, and Ermen.
trout near MELONS gate; it must have been
about II o'clock. did not talk with them
more than ten minutes. | arrived home
about 1890. / have no remembrance oil
meeting any one else on the road. Did not
see the men in the cornfield. did not pass
Mrs. Leila Shaefer's house that morning;
I wasEnot on that road. did not meet any
woman, known or unknown. did not see
any woman at MitchelPs or Bodine's.
| did not meet Woodward. l did
not meet Turner. I did not see or lie
upon any Iaprobe in thoee woods that day.
NV horse was not hitched in the woods that
day. saw no woman in buggy that day.
I had no kind Of roll that day, nothing
but bag. l met two ladies on Mon.
day near Mr. Stacks; they were in buggy.
They bad two books with them one of
them had asked me 10 read them, and l
took them. We talked for possibly twenty
minutes. One of the ladies was married
and one wac unmarried. Neither of the
two ladies got out of the buggy
while l talked with them. This was
on Monday morning, while Slack was
hiving his bees was out for walk and
saw tho ladiee in the road and went out to
them and talked with them about twenty
minutes. Neither of them are of my charge.
the road she lives on. | was no nearer than
half mile to the woods where | was
charged with having been. At $3.50 | was
on the road between Mitchell's and Stacks.
that is about two miles from Mrs. Shaefers
i
or maybe more.
Peter Curry, of Nokesvlle, testified that
he did not see Todd On the Tuesday morn
ing; saw lady in buggy on the Nokes-
vile road; she was going on toward the
station; did not know her; could not
tell anything about her dress. The
buggy with a lady in it was pos.
sibly about fifty or sixty perches from
him saw Mrs. Meredith's niece driving to
Nokesville that morning; did not know
who the lady was that came up the road
from Cedar Run; saw two ladies on the
road that morning one he did not know;
she was going toward Nokesville; was pos
sbly twenty perches from her; the other
was Mrs. Meredith's niece; was within ten
perohes of her it was about 9 o'clock.
Mrs. DR.. Reading testified as follows:
Live about six miles from Nokesville,
near Cedar run. DIR. Todd stayed ut my
house on the night of Monday, the 25d. He
took breakfast the next morning. Break
fast was unusually late. 1t was after
when we rose from breakfast. MIR. Todd
left on horseback. 1t must have been near
ly when he left the farm. paid no at
tention to the saddle.bag he carried.
Mrs. Georgiana Herndon remembered
seeing horseman leave DR.. Readings on
Tuesday, May d. thinks it was Mr.. Todd;
her little girl had just come from Readings
and said he was there.
Page Anderson (colored) testified: 81 live
at Mr.. Meredith's; am his hired man; have
been there two years. know Robert Tur
ner and have known Mr.. Todd eight or
nine years; heard Turner tell his story about
finding Mr.. Todd in the woods. / heard
him tell it at Nokesville TO crowd. 1t
was on Saturday night, after dark. He
said to the crowd that If Mr.. Todd had
given him SO he would not have said any
thing about it. Had conversation with
Mr.. Hornbaker on June 10. He gave me
message to Turner; told me to tell Turner
he would like to see him before he saw
Round and to stick to his story, that he
had plenty of backing.
DIR. Chester, representing informally the
opinion of the judicial committee, intro-
duced resolution calling on the Presby-
terry to refuse to consider this case any fur
Their, as the prosecution had failed to make
good the charges.
On this there was much discussion, and
DIR. Sunderland, as counsel for Mr.. Todd,
protested against any such action rs unfair
to his client. The outcome was. that DIR.
Chester withdrew his motion, and the trial
will proceed as usual.
At o'clock the Presbytery adjourned to
meet to-day at 1915 in the New York Ave-
nue. Presbyterian Church.
VIRGINIA NEWS.
The sales of leaf tobacco at Lynchburg
A